15. Ian Fleming wasn’t just a fiction writer, he had been a real-life James Bond-style spy himself during the Second World War.
Since he first appeared more than 50 years ago, James Bond has become the most famous fictional spy of all time. The British secret agent has appeared in a series of hugely-successful films, with audiences around the world falling for his smooth charms and slick espionage skills. But Bond’s creator, the author Ian Fleming, wasn’t just a talented wordsmith and storyteller. He was also a one-time spook himself. Indeed, before he even conjured up his legendary literary creation, Fleming worked as an agent-runner and spy whilst fighting the Nazis during the Second World War.
When war broke out, Fleming was working as a part-time journalist. He was brought into the war machine by the Naval Intelligence Division and quickly put to work. In particular, Fleming was tasked with running Operation Goldeneye, a covert mission aimed at keeping fascist Spain out of the war. He also headed up two separate intelligence groups, running agents throughout occupied Europe and carrying out a large number of sabotage missions. Once peace returned, Fleming missed the action and so channeled his boredom and frustration into his writing, creating James Bond partly as a means of re-living his days of action.